Turning Point
by Lokelani87
Summary: Ari,left parentless and homeless,has taken to wandering the streets. But life proved cruel as she was taken prisoner and experimented on; now she's been taken in by one of Joker's gangs. Sounds bad, but whatever. More details inside! Have a looksee, srsly
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Okay, so here's the deal. Yes, i put the story in the batman section. yes, it takes place in gotham. However. I am not, nor do i claim to be, a Batman expert. I've seen maybe a few eps of the cartoon, looked at a few of the comic books, and watched the old-school movies once. I have seen the new ones, Dark Knight included. So is everything in the fic going to follow the exact storyline/ facts the actual Batman series presents? No, no it will not. For instance, later in the fic, the Joker will come into play.

And for the sake of my OC (mary-sue as she is), it will involve some factual changes. Nothing major, stuff I don't even know whether it's true or not (I'm leaning towards the latter on that), but changes none-the-less. Gang stuff, like ranks and symbols. Really, it's no big deal. However some people get really miffed about this stuff, so forewarnings and whatnots abound for all.

AU? Slightly.

And I'm not sure about the Scarecrow's actual personality. So I just made him crazy. The gas from Batman Begins went to his head, or something.

And with that, I thank you for reading this, and hope you will continue further.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own batman and co. In the least. Nonetheless, Ari is mine, and shall be kept thus. Thanks.

The rain drizzled down, not hard, however implacably annoying if you were not already used to it. It plinked and splashed off worn, careless buildings, gathering is puddles down the vacant alleys. As the lights flickered and dimmed, a young teenager stepped out of the shadows, securing the black sweat-jacket hood over her brunette hair.

The goal was, for this recently homeless girl, to get to the other side of the deserted street and down to the tarp-covered alleyway. With a quick neutral glance she made her way across, head down, hands stuffed in her jacket pockets. However this simple tract was never completed as a man appeared, and with a mad chuckle, sprayed a mist in her face.

The girl faltered but for a moment, sneezed, and made to move on hoping that whatever the man did, it wasn't too harmful. With a sudden flick of movement, he grabbed her arm, forcefully pulling her to him as she stared with shocked eyes.

"Do you fear my mask, little girl..?" He growled and shook his head slightly. The girl, whose name was Ari, looked in surprise and didn't answer. He jarred her by the arm insisting she look.

"N-not exactly. Lemme go already!" Ari glared and pulled loose only to be stopped by the harsh tug of her jacket.

"What? You're immune? Impossible! This batch, I perfected it! Yes, I did, the antidote can't have spread! How very odd..," The crazed yet calm man jerked her closer to him and before she could push him off slipped a cloth over her face; panic spread like fire but it was too late. She was out cold.

* * *

Ari's head was pounding when she finally awakened from the drug induced sleep. Blurry images ran through her mind as she tried to recall what had happened to her. Rain. A couple's faces. Coldness. With rising distress she looked around and found to her horror she was locked in a small room. It was completely white-washed and the only thing that represented furniture was the squeaky cot she currently laid on.

Her alarm multiplied as the heavy door was opened and a man entered the room. He was Asian with piercing blue eyes; a lab coat covered his clothes and he smiled coldly at her. Ari's body ached, she couldn't move; he was still smiling when the needle struck into her skin. She knew better to move: lifelong fears teach some things. She moaned and to her frustration her eyes were growing damp as the needle stayed intact. Blood test then; worse then a shot, but better then an I.V. Great.

The real torture didn't come until the next day.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hey, I'm actually updating. Sweet, huh? Anyway, I just wanted to point out, to all you die-hard Batman fans, that really- I'm not gonna lie- this fic is more for me. (Selfish much, Lokelani?) Yeah...so really, it'll hardly feature any of the actual characters from Batman. Or they'll be present in passing. It just takes place in Gotham. Y'see, it's more of a prequel to a different fic I've been working on. This is just a backstory on how Ari came to be in the other one. Just a warning, if you people think suddenly tons of main characters are gonna pop out. I was just hoping posting it on ff .net would help to instigate actually writing all of it.

Wow, I'm wordy. So, I'm sorry if readers don't find this fic enjoyable. But feel free to continue reading anyway.

**Disclaimer: **Batman is so not owned by me. However, gangs (including their names) and oc's belong to me.

* * *

Her entire life, no matter how many times she went through it, the fear of medical needles, syringes, plagued her. Those fine-tipped instruments that should have provided security- whether immunity from diseases or answers from blood tests- only struck fear into her heart.

Ari was having a bit of bad luck...well..._a_ _lot_ of bad luck as of late. And now here she was trapped in a room just big enough to be a spacious pantry with-fear of all fears- an I.V. stuck in her arm. She wanted to scream, to bang down the door and shove the stand with its dangling bag of liquid into anyone who got in her way.

But she was still, paralyzed by her own fear at the moment. Because what had started as an accursed needle injected permanently into her arm was slowly becoming her own demise. She could feel it, coursing down her arm, making the spot that was struck hot and dully painful.

The man who had brought her here, O Hateful Man, thought her curious. Like an animal with an interesting abnormality; a rare gene, precious jewel, he brought her here and tested her. Apparently something wasn't right that night when he sprayed her face with a mist. She should have reacted differently.

Oddity must have its limits pushed. Now, without further ado, bring out the poison! For if she could resist so easily one, why not others? By finding that one key that protected her, he could unlock the undoing of everyone else.

She tried to keep it together. Staying sane was a goal she worked towards, trapped in her own custom-fit hell as she was. Her biggest fear? Thrust by needle-point into her skin everyday.

And she was failing on multiple levels. Ari was not immune to any poisons besides the one hallucinogen, and the man was becoming increasingly frustrated at her because of it. She began to retreat into herself. Pain was almost a constant; poisons come in several varieties, not all being quick and painless.

The I.V. had already been moved to different veins several times by this point; food was not brought often due to the nutrients given straight from the source. A break. Her body was pushed to the limit, she couldn't stand if she wanted to now. Ari needed a break, a few moments to gather her breath, to do _anything_.

Then Ari lost herself deep inside her mind, sheltered by anything that kept her distracted. The girl she used to be, the constant-laughing, smiling, ignorant girl was locked in a cage in her own mind. Now for the sake of distraction, she ran through all the movies she'd ever seen in her head, quoting them, trying desperately to draw strength from them and blind herself to the pain.

Ah, the pain and side-effects. Each one was a different taste, like flavors of candy. Once, she began to cough until blood splattered the white floors as if her throat had been torn apart. Another time, and this was a strange one, whenever she tried to move her legs, her arms would feel as though they were being stabbed by ice picks.

Always, last minute, an antidote would be issued by a man who followed the kidnapper around. This cycle was repeated countless times and Ari didn't know how many days had passed, but finally the day came when they near broke her.

Her lungs screamed for air, but whenever she tried to breathe they burned as though set on fire. Her throat felt scalded and her whole body itched like fire ants were biting every bit of skin. Dimly she heard screaming- high pitched and anguished. Her eyesight was gone and everything was black.

Then relief spread through her as a cool blanket extended down her pricked arm and over her body. After that, they left her alone for a while, to the point where she found the strength to stumble about the room scribbling everywhere dazedly with a pen forgotten; they had even taken the blasted I.V. out of her arm.

Then the man, with his icy smile and white coat came in and took her pen away, strapping her into a jacket that bound her hands.

"Nothing has worked yet, my dear, but fear not: we'll start again tomorrow."

With that sentence, the cold girl woke from part of her stupor. Once again she wanted out. How could she have forgotten? Cowed down by _the man_? Maybe this was a nightmare, she thought, and truly life held a dark nightmarish-like quality for her now.

The door that held her in was thick and had nothing but a small window of bars on it. She peered out and saw, across the way, another door, and another down the hall.

"Asylum," she whispered to herself, surprised at how unused hoarse her voice had been. She sat in the corner but could not think of how to get out of this disgustingly caucasian place. An explosion ripped through the air and whoops and screams echoed like lost friends up and down the hall.

* * *

The Joker wasn't a serious man; no, but when he found out the old part abandoned of the asylum was being used for- to put it simply- questionable antics, he just _had_ to investigate. So he grabbed a squad of his men and, well, blew off the door.

"Hey," a voice wheezed out to his right as he was strolling down a bleached hall. It cleared its throat and addressed him again. The Joker turned and looked curiously over to find a pale, wisp of a girl staring at him through some bars on a door. "You breaking people out?" she continued, trying to ignore the peculiarities of his face.

"Hmmm..." The Joker thought a moment then smiled really big, "I don't see why not," whatever it takes to get on that old Scarecrow's nerves. The door was presently removed and the girl stepped confidently out, eyes darting up and down the hall, taking in the men running this way and that, the smoke, and finally the Joker himself.

"Well, you are an odd one, aren't you?" the Joker intoned cocking an eyebrow. She raised one right back and responded tartly.

"Odd one's always out," she said jerking her head to the cell. "Wanna get this off?" she questioned, no doubt referring to the straight jacket constraining her upper limbs. He motioned to one of his men and they sliced through the bands holding her arms in. She nodded her thanks and took a step back cautiously watching his reaction. Running away, was she?

"Do you think you could get away? Only the mad would think it possible," the Joker's smile widened as he gestured to the gun placed in his lackey's hand.

"Well..." she looked at him with a blank face, "I am Madder than a Hatter." And with that she took off running up the hallway and around the corner.

"Hey!" his minion called out furiously, but the Joker held him back from giving chase.

"Madder, hmm...?"


End file.
